By Katharina Weikl, Claudia Röthlin, Yves Gutjahr
"On the River" is a poetic experimental film in tribute to Barbara Strobl and Simon Etter, who received the Mercator Prize for their outstanding research. The stop-motion film follows the course of the river. From its source in the mountains, the water drips, drums, splashes, flows, foams, roars all the way to its mouth in the sea. The strong abstraction of the images and the powerful composition of Fritz Hauser direct the concentration to the poetic text of Matjaž Grilj, who links the knowledge of research with the sensuous attraction and his personal relationship with water. "Be still and listen to the water. The mist, the drop, the wave." With their broad-based citizen science project www.crowdwater.ch, geographers Barbara Strobl and Simon Etter of the University of Zurich are offering all people around the world the opportunity to participate in the exploration of water.